Sly Fox Moves Broadway Start to March 13; Boston Run Ends March 7

By Robert Simonson
04 Mar 2004

Richard Dreyfuss in the Boston try-out of Sly Fox
Richard Dreyfuss in the Boston try-out of Sly Fox
Photo by Carol Rosegg

The upcoming Broadway revival of Larry Gelbart's comedy Sly Fox has pushed back its New York start date one day to March 13. The delay will allow sufficient time for load-out in Boston, load-in in Manhattan and technical rehearsals, a spokesman said.

Sly Fox, with a cast led by Richard Dreyfuss, began its out-of-town tryout at the Shubert Theatre in Boston on Feb. 20. It will conclude its stay on March 7. While in Beantown, it earned a profit and an encouraging review from Variety.

Opening at Broadway's Barrymore Theatre is April 1.

Dreyfuss' rival conniver in Gelbert's modern adaptation of Ben Jonson's classic comedy Volpone is Eric Stoltz, the dependable commercial and independent film presence, who will star as Simon Able, the servant of Dreyfuss' miser, Foxwell J. Sly.

Joining in the comic machinations are a variety of proven comedic talents from the worlds of stage, film and television, including Elizabeth Berkley, Bob Dishy, René Auberjonois, Bronson Pinchot, Irwin Corey, Peter Scolari, Rachel York and Nick Wyman.

Completing the cast are Charles Antalosky, Linda Halaska, Jeremy Hollingworth, Robert LaVelle, Jason Ma, Jeff Talbott and Gordon Joseph Weiss. The involvement of Dreyfuss means the Oscar-winning actor's first Broadway turn since 1992's Death and the Maiden. In recent years, Dreyfuss has returned to the stage in a big way, acting in London (Prisoner of Second Avenue), Off-Broadway (The Exonerated, Trumbo) and regionally (All My Sons at the Westport Country Playhouse last summer).

The play features set design by George Jenkins and Jesse Poleshuck, costumes by Albert Wolsky and lighting design by Phil Monat.

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Sly Fox was first produced on Broadway in 1976 and went on to run 495 performances. Penn directed that production as well. George C. Scott played the lead role of Sly, with Bob Dishy as Truckle and Jack Gilford as Crouch. Dishy won a Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Tony.